"Stealth Mission" Battlestar Galactica: Origins #5 (Dynamite) Pages 1-11, panel 3 Writer: Robert Place Napton Pencils: Jonathan Lau Cover A: Jonathan Lau 2008

As a young Viper ace, Adama is assigned to a secret mission.

Read the story summary of this issue at the Battlestar Wiki

Notes from the BSG chronology

This story opens about 6 months before the end of the first Cylon War, placing it 6 months before "The Lab".

Didja Know?

Battlestar Galactica: Origins was an 11-issue mini-series published by Dynamite Entertainment, covering the origins of several characters of BSG2000. Issues 5-8 featured a young William "Husker" Adama during the first Cylon War and its aftermath.

I've broken this issue into two stories since pages 1-10 take place about 6 months before "The Lab" (when the first Cylon War ends). The second half of the issue takes place immediately after "The Lab"

Didja Notice?

On the Jonathan Lau cover, notice that the stenciling of the Viper pilot is reflected in the faceplate of Adama's helmet, reading "William Adama, Husker".

An admiral named Lionel reads from Adama's flight instructor's final entry in his file: "William Adama's instincts in a Viper verge on the uncanny. In my ten years at this post he, above and beyond, is the best I've ever trained." Here, another admiral asks, "That true, Adama? You the best?" and after a pause, Adama responds, "Yes, sir. I am." In Blood and Chrome, Commander Nash reads an entry presumably from the same flight instructor stating Adama's a natural, "One of the best pilot candidates I have ever seen. And, unfortunately, he knows it." When Nash asks if it's true that he's a natural, Adama just responds, "I can fly a plane, sir. 'Natural', I can't say."

In this issue, Adama is assigned to the Argus, a new stealth battlestar manned by personnel considered to be absolutely loyal to the Colonies. The ship has a squadron of stealth Vipers assigned to it, which are similar in look to the Blackbird, the stealth Viper later built by Tyrol in "Flight of the Phoenix". Possibly, Tyrol was inspired by seeing the stealth Vipers of the Argus some time in the decades after the first Cylon War.
Stealth battlestar Argus	Stealth Viper from the battlestar Argus	Blackbird from "Flight of the Phoenix"

On page 3, Adama punches three main engine buttons to power up his Viper, just as in the original Vipers of the BSG70 series.

On page 4, one of the admirals says, "I see a bright future for you, Adama. Work hard and you'll be sitting at this end of the table one day." Adama does eventually become an admiral, promoted by President Roslin, several months after the fall of the Colonies in "Resurrection Ship" Part 2.

On page 6, Lucky kids Adama he thought he might need some TLC, it being his first time behind enemy lines. But we (retroactively) know that Adama was also behind enemy lines about a year-and-a-half ago, in Blood and Chrome. TLC, of course, stands for "Tender Loving Care".

On page 7, one of the structures at Trinity Base, on an unknown planet, looks a lot like the top of a classic-style Cylon basestar.

The Cylons still use classic-style Raiders throughout the first war, as seen here and other depictions of the first Cylon War. 

On page 10, two previously unseen types of small Cylon ships are used to attach tow cables to Lucky's stealth Viper for capture and study.